495 Express Lanes to open Saturday

The latest effort to relieve the Washington area's snarled auto traffic debuts this Saturday when toll road developer Transurban will raise the curtain on its 495 Express Lanes on the Capital Beltway in Northern Virginia, WJLA.com reports.

The $2 billion project — 80 percent paid for with private funds — has created a stretch of express lanes where drivers who are willing to pay a potentially steep toll can travel swiftly from Springfield to Tysons Corner.